Attachment for team-harness.



PATENTED APR. 28, 190.3.

Ina/07650? .ZZ gtm/V0rZ F. L. AINSWORTH. ATTACHMENT FOR TEAM HARNESS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 27, 1902.

H0 MODEL.

UNITED STAES 'ATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK L. AINSWORTH, OF TURNER, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHNJ. HOVEY, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

ATTACHM ENT FOR TEAM-HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 726,236, dated April28, 1903.

Application filed May 27, 1902.

To aZZ w/tont it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. Ams- WORTH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Turner, in the county of VVyandotte and State ofKansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachmentsfor Team-Harness, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to attachments for team-harness; and my object isto produce an attachment of this character for use more especially inconnection with vehicles whose tongues are subject to strain and violentjerkssuch as wheeled scrapers, farm ma chinery, &c.--so that thefrequent downward jerks of the tongue shall be imposed upon the backsand hind quarters of the animals instead of upon their necks, as is nowthe case. With the team-harness at present in use the jerking of thecollars by the tongue soon develops sore spots on the animals necks andrenders them unfit for service unless properly taken care of. While thistrouble occurs most frequently where the animals are hitched to wheeledscrapers, it is true to a limited extent of a team hitched to anyvehicle provided with a tongue, it being obvious that where four wheeledvehicles are em- .ployedthe weight of the vehicle and its load is notimposed upon the necks of the animals, the latter, however, beingsubjected to an erratic vibration of the tongue induced by travel overrough roads or stones.

The invention consists in the use of a short back-strap or saddle paddedor not, as desired, a pair of straps connecting the ends of the saddleor back-strap with the breeching, and

a pair of straps connecting the ends of the saddle or back-strap withthe breast-straps, said straps being so connected to the hames that theycannot swing below the collar and abrade against the animal.

The invention further consists in certain novel and peculiar features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described andclaimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents aperspective view of a team of horses harnessed to a vehicle, the tongueonly of which appears, and equipped Serial No. 109,238. (No model) withharness attachments embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detailperspective view of the harness attachment. Fig. 3 is a detailperspective view showing a different method of uniting the harnessattachment to the ham es and breast-strap.

In the said drawings, 1 designates a short saddle or back-strap whichpreferably is of considerable width and short length and which may bepadded or not, as desired, and 2 designates rings or loops at the endsof said saddle or back-strap.

3 designates straps looped through the rings or loops 2 and providedwith buckles 4:, en gaged by the perforated ends of the straps in theusual manner, so that the straps may be lengthened and shortened. At thefront ends of the straps when buckled are loops 5,through which thebuckle-carrying ends of the straps slidingly extend, so as to formforward of loops 5 the loops 6, wherein are secured snap-hooks 7 orequivalent devices.

8 designates straps looped through and extending rearwardly from ringsor loops 2, the outer or upper strands of said looped straps beingprovided with snap-hooks 9 or equivalent devices at'their rear ends. Theinner strands of said straps are bent back upon themselves, so as toform loops 10, wherein are secured buckles 11 for engagement with theperforated portion of the outer strands of the straps, the free ends ofloop portions 10 being confined properly by means of the loops 12,through which the outer strands of the straps and said ends slidinglyext-end.

l3 designates the tongue of the vehicle, and mounted upon the same inthe usual or any preferred manner is the neck-yoke bar 14, the samebeing connected in turn by the breast-straps 15 to the hame-rings 16,said rings being loosely linked in the usual manner, as at 17, to thehames 18.

The attachment of the character described being fastened upon each horsehas its snaphooks 7 engaged with rings 16 and its snaphooks 9 engagedwith the rings 19 of the breeching. The attachment being now in placethe straps 3 and 8 are adjusted, if necessary, to accommodate theparticular ani- 10o mal. The adjustment should be such that the weightof the tongue should be applied through the breast-straps and rings 16upon the straps 3, these in turn applying it through the instrumentalityof the saddle or backstrap 1 and straps 8 upon the backs and hindquarters of the animals. This object is obviously accomplished becauseof the flexible connection of the rings 16 with the hames, though itisobvious that, if desired, the same result may be obtained by connectingthe straps 3 and the breast-straps directlytogether, in which case it isnecessary that they be so connected to the hamesas, for instance,runningone of them through rings 16that they cannot slip below the collars andby abrasion produce sore spots on the animals.

In action the continual downward swing of the tongue is imposed almostentirely upon those parts of the animal where they are the most capableof resisting strain, the hames and collar acting in this connection moreas a guard to prevent injurious abrasion by straps 3 and 15 and as aguide to insure almost direct reciprocation of said straps.

I am aware that saddles or back-straps have been employed in connectionwith straps leading to the breeching and to the shafts of aracing-vehicle, and therefore do not claim, broadly, a back-strap orsaddle provided at each end with straps extending forwardly andrearwardly. I am not aware, however, that prior to my invention any onehas ever used an attachment of the character above mentioned inconnection with team-harness and bearing such relation to thebreast-straps that the downward movement of the tongue shall be resistedby the backs and hind quarters of the animals instead of by their necksand hearing such relation also to the hames that abrasion of the animalsby the contiguous parts of the attachment or breast-straps is prevented.

In Fig. 3 the connection is direct to the breast-straps, as abovesuggested-that is to say, the straps extending forwardly from the saddleorbaIck-strap extend slidingly through rings 16 and forwardly of thelatter are connected, as shown or in any other suitable manner, to thebreast-straps, the arrangement being such that the downward movement ofthe tongue is resisted almost entirely by the back-strap and breeching,the hames acting simply to prevent straps 3 from getting back of thecollar. Of course the fact that the straps of the attachment can bevaried as to length not only accom modates horses of varying size, butalso permits the application of some of the weight upon the neck.

From the above description it will be apparent that the invention issusceptible of modification in some particulars without departing fromthe principle of construction involved, and while I have illustrated anddescribed its preferred embodiment I reserve the right to make changesof the character above indicated.

Having thus described the invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a harness, the combination with the hames, a back-saddle, and thebreeching; of straps having a common point of connection with saidsaddle, one of them extending thence rearwardly and downwardly to thebreeching and the other extending forwardly and downwardly and connectedwith the liames and also with the breast-strap.

2. In a harness, the combination with the hames, a back-saddle, and thebreeching; of straps having a common point of connection with saidsaddle, one of them extending thence rearwardly and downwardly to thebreeching and the other extending forwardly and downwardly and connectedwith the breast-strap, and a ring carried by each hame andlooselyembracing such forwardly-extending strap.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

FREDERICK L. AINSWORTII.

Witnesses:

II. C. RODGERS, G. Y. THORPE.

